Labor chairwoman Shelly Yacimovich slammed the Iran policies of her predecessor
at the helm of the party, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, in an interview with The
Jerusalem Post that will be published in next Friday’s Shavuot
supplement.

Yacimovich specializes in socioeconomic issues, but now that
she is opposition leader and a candidate for prime minister, she expresses
opinions on every matter. On Iran, she believes that serious sanctions have just
begun and that every nonmilitary approach must be exhausted before a military
strike comes into play.

“All options are on the table, but the military
option in my opinion should be the last one,” she said. “We must first exhaust
all the economic international options with full cooperation with the US and
other powers. Israel cannot turn the Iranian nuclear issue into one that is only
our responsibility. We need to be part of a world coalition.”

Yacimovich
complained that there is “too much chatter on Iran” and said “it has crossed
every line.” She said she did not believe that Barak agreed with her that the
military option should be the last one.

“I am not convinced, to say the
least, that this is the current government’s policy,” she said. “I am using all
of the influence I have so that my understanding on Iran will be the dominant
one. It was Barak who said declarations won’t stop the centrifuges. I suggest he
listen to his own advice.”

Sources close to Barak responded that
Yacimovich only embarrasses herself when she criticizes the defense minister on
security issues, especially Iran.

“Yacimovich understands a few issues,”
a Barak associate said. “Security and diplomatic issues are not among
them.”

On Tuesday, US Ambassador Dan Shapiro said to a closed meeting
that while the US preferred a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear standoff with
Iran, that did not mean Washington would not use the military option and it
already has such an option ready, Channel 2 news reported on
Wednesday.